Once again, Gohan found himself inside the first aid area. The staff there was completely overwhelmed, with all the fighters and innocent spectators who suffered injuries at the hands of Babidi and crew. Gohan was simply put into a room with a lot of beds and told to lie down until a doctor could come by.

"This has basically been the worst birthday ever," Gohan complained. "I knew I should have stayed home instead of joining this tournament."

"Hey, it wasn't...all bad," Bulma said, trying to cheer Gohan up. "You got to meet a nice girl, right? And you won two million dollars!"

"I lost my arm!" Gohan said. "There's no way I can—two million dollars?"

"I used your prize money from the Junior Division to bet on Mighty Mask," Bulma said. "And besides, we can use the dragonballs to bring your arm back."

"If they still work, now that Piccolo's dead," Gohan said glumly. "Is there anyone else who died while I was a statue?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not as dead as you think," a gruff voice said.

Gohan looked up from the makeshift hospital bed. A familiar large green man was in the doorway, smiling at him.

"Piccolo! You're alive!" Gohan said.

"Hey, kid," Piccolo said. "You don't look so good."

"What? But—I saw you get killed!" Bulma said. "Everyone did! Even Vegeta said—"

"Nah, that was just one of my forms that got destroyed," Piccolo said.

"What?" Bulma asked.

"I used the Multi-Form Technique, so searching for the dragonballs would go faster," Piccolo said. "You know, instead of me finding all the balls separately, I had four of me finding the balls at the same time."

"But wouldn't you need four dragon radars that way?" Bulma asked.

"I used to be Guardian of Earth," Piccolo said. "I don't need a radar to find dragonballs. Anyway, one of the balls was close to the tournament, so I decided to check in on you. Good thing I did, too. If I didn't, a lot more people would have died."

"Well...thanks for all your help, I guess," Gohan said. "Too bad I wasn't around to see any of it."

"It's probably a good thing you didn't see it," Piccolo said. "It wasn't my best fight."

Piccolo left it at that.

"So...why are you here?" Gohan asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Piccolo asked. "I got all the dragonballs, so Dende can summon the dragon now."

"Right!" Gohan said, suddenly excited. "Dende was here at the tournament! We can get our wishes right away! Let's go!"

Gohan hopped out of the hospital bed, in defiance of what the attendant recommended. Unfortunately for our one-armed hero, the attendant in question re-entered the room with an injured girl.

"You're not supposed to be out of bed!" the attendant snapped. "Lie down until the doctor comes!"

"But I have somewhere to go," Gohan said.

"No exceptions," the attendant said.

"Please, it's important," Gohan begged.

"No exceptions!" the attendant said. "Now lie down or else I'll give you a sedative."

Bulma gave Gohan a look that clearly said We'll sneak out when the attendant leaves. Gohan begrudgingly got back into his bed, and the attendant turned his attention back to the injured girl. "Lie down here, and wait for the doctor to arrive," he said. "You can't leave until the doctor says it's okay. After that, I'm told that you go right back into police custody."

Police custody? Gohan wondered. Who is this...oh.

The injured girl was no one other than Videl Satan. Now that she was no longer Majin Videl, she seemed a lot smaller.

"Oh, great, it's you," Gohan said. "The girl who tried to kill me. Twice. Or was it three times? I've lost count."

"I'm...sorry?" Videl asked.

"That is the worst apology I've ever heard," Bulma commented.

"No fighting in the hospital area," the attendant said in a bored voice. "And Officer Meekins is waiting for you in the hallway, Videl, so don't even think about trying to escape."

"Yes, sir," Videl sighed.

"You look really pale," the attendant said. "I suggest drinking some water, then going straight to sleep." The attendant then nodded and left.

"She does look paler than she did this morning," Bulma said to Gohan.

All humans look pale, Piccolo thought to himself.

Videl got a drink of water from the sink in the room, then turned to Gohan. "So...you're Gohan, right?"

"Don't pretend you don't remember me!" Gohan said. "You've been talking to me all day!"

"I...I don't remember much," Videl said. "It's like...my mind was put under an evil spell all day, and I just now woke up from it."

"Hmph," Gohan said. The fact that Videl was telling the truth didn't mean Gohan still couldn't hold a grudge against her.

"My head still hurts, though," Videl said. "It feels like a third of my brain is missing."

"Gee, it feels like my entire arm is missing," Gohan said sarcastically. "And it's all your fault, too. So you'll understand when I don't accept your apology."

"Look, I said I was sorry!" Videl said, getting snappy. "At least you're still alive, unlike my dad!"

"Huh?" Bulma asked.

"Well, then, that's one thing Bobby Z did right," Gohan said. "Hercule is the most annoying, stupid—"

"I killed my own father!" Videl said, her voice almost ripping in half. "Are you happy now? He's gone because of me, and I can barely remember it! Both my parents are dead because of me! So excuse me if I have bigger problems to deal with than your crybaby attitude!"

"What, I should feel sorry for you because you're a serial killer?" Gohan asked. "You killed my best friend, and you almost killed me! And news flash, you're—"

"Okay,TIME OUT!" Bulma said. "You two are no longer allowed to speak to each other, okay? Gohan, we're leaving now."

"Good riddance," Videl said.

Gohan made a rude gesture towards Videl and left the room. Piccolo grunted and followed after him.

"Videl..." Bulma began. "I don't think your father..."

"What?" Videl asked.

"Nothing," Bulma said. "We'll talk later, okay?"

"Later. Right. Do I know you?" Videl asked.

"Hm," Bulma said. Maybe Videl's memory was messed up. "We sat together during Gohan's fight with Hercule today. Anyway, just get some rest. I'll be back soon."

"If I'm not in jail by then," Videl muttered to herself.


Piccolo lead Gohan to a nearby courtyard. The seven dragonballs were grouped together in a small pile, out in the open where anyone could steal them.

"What the? Where did Dende sneak off to?" Piccolo asked. "I told him to wait here with the dragonballs!"

"Dende left?" Gohan asked.

First he forces me to play dragonball finder, then he abandons his post, Piccolo thought. I'm going to have to have a talk with Dende about being a proper Guardian.

"Do you have any idea where he went?" Piccolo asked.

Gohan closed his eyes. "I can sense his energy, not far from here. Let's go."

"Right," Piccolo said. He gathered the dragonballs in his arm.

Gohan and Piccolo went after Dende's energy signal, which was about thirty feet away. Dende was on a bench near a hot dog vendor. Gohan recognized it as the same area he visited earlier, when he had a conversation with Erasa.

Something was different this time. And by "something", I mean that Dende and Erasa were kissing each other like love-struck teenagers.

"Oh, no [bad word] [bad word]!" Gohan shouted. "Erasa! What are you doing?"

Erasa caught sight of Gohan and blushed. "Oh, hello, Gohan," she said. "Meet Dende! He's my new boyfriend!"

"Uh...hi," Dende said.

"I know who Dende is!" Gohan said. "I was the one who introduced him to you!"

"Oh, yeah, I forgot that," Erasa said. "Thanks for that! Dende is sooo great!"

"Ah, shucks!" Dende said. "You're great, too, Sugar Plum."

"I don't believe this!" Gohan said. "You two together? How...how did this happen?"

"Well, the two of us started talking after you were killed by the red guy, and we really connected, you know?" Erasa said. "We bonded over your death and—wait a second. How are you still alive? You died!"

"I didn't die!" Gohan said. "I just lost my arm...and two of my best friends, apparently!"

"Oh..." Erasa said. "...I'm a horrible person, aren't I? I'm sorry, Gohan."

Gohan grimaced. After a few seconds, he decided to forget Erasa...for the time being. There were more important matters at hand.

"Whatever," Gohan said. "Let's just use the dragonballs. Where's Bulma?"

"I'm coming!" Bulma called. She came running up, to join the other people. "Don't leave me behind like that again!" she said. "I had to look everywhere for you!"

"Pssst!" Erasa said. "What's a dragonball?"

"Oh, you'll like this," Dende said. "It's one of my cool alien powers."

Piccolo, who had dropped the dragonball on the ground, put his hands over the dragonballs and began speaking. "O great dragon, I summon you by your name! SHENRON!"

"Hey, you're stealing my thunder!" Dende complained.

The sky around the entire planet went dark. Thunderclouds came from out of nowhere, and the mighty Shenron appeared in the sky.

"AAAAAAA!" Erasa screamed. She fainted immediately.

"Erasa! Babe!" Dende said.

"I am Shenron, the eternal dragon," Shenron said in his deep voice. "Tell me your wish, and I will grant it."

"We wish to bring all the people who died at the tournament today back to life!" Gohan said.

"Not everyone!" Bulma said. "What about the bad guys?"

"Oh, yeah, but not the evil ones," Gohan said. "Only bring the good people back to life."

"Bring back the good people who died at the tournament today," Shenron said. "It is within my power to grant this wish."

"Excellent!" Bulma said.

"Wait a second!" Gohan said. "I know you're not supposed to bring the bad people back to life, but...I guess you should bring Hercule back to life, too. Even though he's a liar and a phony."

"You want Hercule alive again?" Piccolo asked. "Why would you want that?"

"It's not for me," Gohan said. "It's for Videl. You all saw how depressed she was about her father's death."

"Since when do you care about Videl's feelings?" Bulma asked.

"I...I don't, okay?" Gohan said. "I'm just trying to be nice, that's all! Besides, Hercule did try to save the world today...kind of. He deserves a second chance."

"If you say so," Bulma said, shrugging. She didn't think Hercule made that much of a difference in the battle, but helping Hercule was the sort of thing Goku would have done.

"You heard all that, right?" Piccolo shouted. "Bring back all the good people who died at the tournament today, including Hercule!"

"I cannot grant this wish," Shenron said.

"What?" everyone asked at the same time.

"I didn't make any mistakes when I made that dragon, did I?" Dende wondered.

"Why not?" Piccolo shouted at Shenron.

"Hercule Satan cannot be brought back to life," Shenron said. "He is not dead. He is on Frieza Planet 285."

"Frieza Planet 285!" Dende said. "That's the planet with horrible monsters on it! ...Or was that Frieza Planet 295? I forget."

"So...Videl didn't kill her father!" Gohan said.

"I thought so!" Bulma said. "I saw her kill Babidi, but I didn't see her kill Hercule."

"I grow weary of this discussion," Shenron said, sounding annoyed. Shenron was never known for his patience when it came to wishes. "Tell me what your first wish is, or I will go away."

"Just bring back all the people who died at the tournament today, except Babidi and Dabura," Piccolo said. "Simple enough?"

Shenron's eyes glowed red. "It is done," he said. "What is your second wish?"

"Bring Hercule back here to Planet Earth!" Gohan said.

"Aren't you going to wish for your arm back?" Bulma asked.

"That'll be the third wish," Gohan said.

"Yeah, it's just like what we did on Namek!" Dende said. "The first wish brought Piccolo back to life, and the second wish brought him to Namek!"

"Uh...sure, just like that," Gohan said. He wasn't sure why Dende made that connection, but it didn't really matter.

"There's a slight problem with that," Dende said.

"Another problem?" Bulma asked. "What is it this time?"

"The dragon will only grant two wishes," Dende said.

"Woah, WHAT?" Gohan asked. "Dende, you said you fixed the dragonballs so they grant three wishes, like on Namek!"

"I said I was trying to fix the dragonballs," Dende said. "I didn't say I actually did it."

"Okay, then, forget that—"

"Your wish is granted," Shenron said. "I now leave you."

"NO WAY!" Gohan shouted.

But it was too late. The dragonballs turned blank and scattered all over the earth, as Shenron disappeared and the sky turned back to normal.

"...That could have gone better," Dende said.

Gohan turned and looked at Dende. Gohan's face was furious. "You THINK?" Gohan shouted.

"Uh oh," Dende said.

"Now I have to wait a YEAR before I get my arm back?" Gohan shouted at Dende.

"Look at it this way," Dende said. "Future Gohan lost his arm, too, so now the two of you are like twins...kinda..."

Gohan's hair flipped up and turned yellow, as he turned Super Saiyan 2. Pure energy crackled in the air around him.

"[Bad word]," Dende said. He tried to hide behind Piccolo. "Piccolo, help me!" Dende cried.

Piccolo sighed. "Gohan, you do realize that if you kill Dende, the dragonballs won't work anymore."

"..." Gohan said.

"Yeah, that's right!" Dende said. "No one can make another dragon, besides me!"

"Piccolo can make another dragon," Gohan said slowly. "He was Guardian of Earth before."

"Oh, um...uh...crud," Dende said.

"I'm trying to decide whether to kill you now, or just rip off your arm," Gohan said, sounding slightly like Vegeta. "That way, you can feel the pain I'm going through now. What do you think?"

"That's it, I quit!" Dende said.

"What? You can't quit!" Piccolo said.

"Sure I can!" Dende said. "I don't want to be the Guardian of Earth anymore! It's too hazardous to my health! Piccolo, you're the guardian again! So Gohan, if you have any complaints about the dragonballs, go to him, not me!"

"That's not going to work, Dende!" Gohan said, taking slow steps towards Dende. "First you steal my kind of girlfriend, then you waste time during our wish so I lose my arm! You're going to pay for this!"

"No, wait, that works perfectly!" Bulma said.

"Huh?" Gohan asked. He stopped walking and turned to look at her.

"The Guardian of Earth can only create one set of dragonballs per year, right?" Bulma said. "If we switch guardians, that should reset the time limit! Piccolo could make a new set of dragonballs right away, and we can still wish your arm back today!"

"...Does it work like that?" Gohan asked.

"...I don't know," Piccolo said. "But it can't hurt to try, I guess."

"Fine," Gohan said. "Dende, you get to live. For now."

Dende threw himself at Bulma's feet and hugged them. "You saved my life! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"You can thank me after you collect all of the dragonballs," Bulma said.

"What? I've never collected dragonballs before," Dende said. "I don't know where to start."

Gohan charged up an energy ball.

"AUGH! I mean, I'll get those dragonballs right away, sir!" Dende said, saluting Gohan. "In fact, I'll start looking for them now!"